Powerpuff Girls Z
Powerpuff Girls Z is an anime adaptation of the popular & famous worldwide cartoon The Powerpuff Girls. It is a magic girl anime and features a transformation sequence similar to those featured in the classic Sailor Moon. The anime's character design is actually done by Miho Shimogasa of said anime. The anime ran from 12:00 AM (sharp), July 1, 2006 A.D.-12:00 AM (also sharp), June 30, 2007 A.D. on all TVs for 52 episodes. It currently shows on all Boomerangs & all AT-Xs at 7:00 sharp every morning.﻿ Plot The plot of the anime differs much from the original program. The son of Utonium Z, a superhero, Ken Kitazawa Z, Utonium Z's sidekick, created Chemical Z (a variant of his father's Chemical X). Ken uses the chemical to destroy an ice glacier and avoid an ecological disaster. The impact causes white and black rays fly across the skies of New Townsville. The white lights hit Hyper Blossom '(Hannah Anderson), '''Rolling Bubbles '(Alice Gardner), and '''Powered Buttercup (Samantha Metzger).Those hit with the black light became bad guys of the series. The Powerpuff Boys gathered up the PPGZ to remove the Chemical. After defeating Mojo Jojo Z, Mr. Mayor assigned them to be the heroines of the city. They are called to action (always while at school) using the cry of Ken Kitazawa Z's pet puppy superhero, Peach Z. By the way, Utonium Z, Ken Kitazawa Z, & Peach Z together are The Powerpuff Boys. Differences From Original Version *The anime features new characters such as Utonium Z (called The Powerpuff Professor in the original)'s son, Ken Kitazawa Z, and their pet puppy, Peach Z. *They are older than the original Powerpuff Girls. They're 13-year-old 7th grade Powerpuff Girls Z vs. the 5-year-old kindergarten Powerpuff Girls *The girls have different apperances and have weapons for use.﻿ Characters (Note: Most characters in the anime are present or at least based on their American counter-parts. Characters mentioned in this section are those with significant differences or not in the American version at all. For those present in both versions, there is also a brief PPGZ section on their main pages.) The Powerpuff Girls Z *''Momoko Akatsutsumi ('赤堤ももこ',' '''Akatsutsumi Momoko)/Hyper-Blossom ('ハイパー・ブロッサム',' Haipā Burossamu) is Blossom's counter-part. She was the first to be hit with the white light and the self-proclaimed leader of the troop. Her main weapon is a Yo-Yo. She is very ditzy in comparison to her counter-part and is obsessed with boys and sweets. She is known as a "hero maniac" and is obsessed with helping others. Despite her ditzy nature, she can be quite clever and can come up with plans when the time comes. *'Miyako Gotokuji (豪徳寺みやこ, Gōtokuji Miyako)/'Rolling Bubbles' (ローリング・バブルス, Rōringu Baburusu) is Bubbles' counter-part, and the second to be transformed. Her weapon is a giant bubble wand. She isn't as childish as American Bubbles, but is quiet ditzy and often seems to not completely understand her powers. She is known for being the sweet-heart of the school whom is always receiving love-notes from boys. She is more mature and calm than the other girls, but can be angered when provoked. She is extremely polite and loves shopping. She, like her American counter-part, still has her stuffed Octopus. Also like the original Bubbles, she is still very innocent, kind, gentle and has a deep love for animals. *'Kaoru Matsubara' (松原かおる, Matsubara Kaoru)/'Powered Buttercup' (パワード・バターカップ, Pawādo Batākappu) is Buttercup's counter-part. She is very much like her American self in personality. She likes to skateboard and hates wearing skirts (and she even got a cold from wearing her PPGZ uniform.) She was the last to be hit by the white light. She loves sports and is very athletic at school. She initially dislikes her teammates because they are very "girly" and only joins due to the power she has achieved. Unlike Bubbles, she does not use honorifics (which in Japan is very rude.)﻿ Other Protagonists Present in Both Adaptions *'Professor Utonium' (ユートニウム博士, Yūtoniumu-Hakase) ''is very similar to his counter-part in the original series. He appears to work for the Mayor. He creates various inventions, including Chemical X which was adapted by his son Ken. He is a gentle father to his son and treats the PPGZ like daughters (which is ironic since they were his daughters in the original series.) *'The Mayor of Tokyo City/ New Townsville''' (or just Mayor) is not as dumb as the original version but is still shown to be quite dim-witted. He is a lot more normal looking being of normal height and having no monocle or top hat. He is very childish. *'Miss Bellum' (ミス・ベラム, Misu Beramu) has blonde hair in the anime adaption. Her hair does not cover her face, rather she'll usually hold a tablet computer with red lips on it in front of her face. She still does the majority of the Mayor's work and is he brains of the operation. It is noted several times in the series that she is very attractive, including Fuzzy Lumpkins developing a crush on her. *'Miss Keane' (キーン先生, Kīn-sensei) is very pretty and loved by her male students, although the female students don't like her as much, especially Princess Morbucks. Miss Keane, like the original, is kind and incredibly patient. PPGZ Exclusive Protagonists *'Ken Kitazawa' (北沢ケン, Kitazawa Ken) ''is the Professor's son and he is a young genius. He invented Chemical Z. He is home schooled by his father and is much more educated than the girls. He sees the girls as older sisters. The girls once tried to act as his mother, due to him not having a loving female figure in his life. *'Poochi/ Peach''' (ピーチ, Pīchi) is Ken's pet robotic dog. After being hit by the white light, he gained the ability to talk and gained intelligence. His cry prompts the girls' transformation and can regenerate their powers when drained. He can also sniff out those affected by Chemical Z and Him's black particles. However, the scent can be masked by cosmetics (as with Sedusa's makeup.) Villains *'Mojo '''has different origins in the anime. He was not the Professor's lab assistant, rather he was an ordinary zoo monkey hit with the black light ray. He was often made fun of by humans and decided to seek revenge on humanity once hit with the light. He is physically more powerful than the original version of the character, able to fly and lay a dozen punches at one time. This version of Mojo frequently displays an immature attitude and makes the most childish flaws throughout his plans. While the original Mojo was portrayed as one of the most competent and genuinely threatening villains in the series, the anime version is more of a rather inept comic relief and is seen by the Powerpuff Girls as more of an annoying nuisance than a dangerous enemy. The anime Mojo also does not repeat himself redundantly as the original Mojo does, instead in the Japanese version, ending most sentences with saying his name. *'Fuzzy Lumpkins''' is very similar in both personality and appearance to his American counter-part. He is obsessed with his property and claims other things that don't belong to him as his own. He is very strong. Fuzzy has a huge crush on Miss Bellum. He can be nice to those showing him praise (such as those listening to him playing his banjo.) *'Him '''is the most powerful enemy of the series, and it is safe to say that he is the main antagonist. Him is an evil being saved, nothing more and nothing less than chaos itself. His biggest weakness is the cold. In ancient times, Him was dedicated to bring about the destruction of a small town, however, was defeated by Goodenough Girls X who took advantage of Him's weakness (cold) to lock him up and take part of their evil and save the mountains. But when Ken ended up destroying that mountain (below) Z-rays were scattered all around New Townsville, and consequently, over producing and giving birth to the many villains in the city. And a black Z lightning struck Him and woke him. It is also known that he released a strange dust that was responsible for producing some villains. *'Himeko Shirogane is Princess Morebucks's counter-part. She does not necessarily want to be a Powerpuff Girl, but she wishes to show them up due to them stealing her spot-light. Her cat's scream or her desires to be on top can trigger her transformation. When she is returned to normal, she cannot remember what happened while she was evil. Her desires to be noticed comes from her lack of attention at home. Her parents pay more attention to her older sister, Miko, who is better than her at everything. *'''The Gangreen Gang are exactly like the ones in the American version, with the exception of Weevil (Lil' Arturo's counter-part) and Ivy (Snake) being girls. Also, everyone has different names: Bobby Green (Ace), Ivy (Snake), Weevil (Lil' Arturo), Lunk (Grubber) and Big Boy (Big Billy.) *'The Amoeba Boys' are also very much like the American ones with the exception of one of them being a girl. They are smaller in size. *'Sedusa' was originally a sweet, shy girl named Annie. She has a crush on a boy that frequents her shop, but felt like she wasn't as pretty as Miss Bellum (whom she thought he liked.) While leaving to give Miss Bellum the lipstick she dropped, the black light hit her, turning her into the alter ego, Sedusa. Sedusa stole items such as make-up, jewelry and clothes that she thought would make her more attractive. Sedusa can take the form of anyone using cosmetics. She can also use her hair like tentacles like her American counter-part. Annie transforms into Sedusa when anxious and wearing lipstick. Annie has no memory of Sedusa's actions. *'The Rowdyruff Boys' were created by Mojo to destroy the PPGZ. They were made by the girls' and Mojo's DNA. Unlike their American counter-parts, they have no powers. They are normal, misbehaved boys. They defeated the PPGZ by being extremely gross and disrespectful. They actions include throwing gross objects (boogers, ear-wax and smelly socks) at the girls, peeing on the city, mooning the girls and lifting their skirts. They are very rude to Mojo, much to his dismay because he considers them his sons. When they want to suck up to him, then they act like loving sons. There is a ton of censorship of their actions in the English dub. Instead of peeing on the city, they use a water hoes. They simply bent over, instead of mooning the girls. And though the skirts were never lifted to a point where you could see their panties to begin with, only the girl's reactions are shown. The Rowdyruff Boys Z are also defeated with kisses. PPGZ Exclusive Villains *'Michel' (ミッシェル, Missheru) is an effeminate hairdresser with strange tastes in hair and hair. He is judged and said to be a horrible stylist which causes him to cry. He uses his teddy bear for comfort. When he winds it, it gives him encouraging words. As he winds his teddy bear is hit by black Z-Rays and uses his power to hypnotize the customers to accept his eccentric hairstyle. He only changes when winds his teddy bear. *'Miko Shirogane' is the older sister of Himeko. She designed a dress which had all the capabilities of weapons of Powerpuff Girls Z, and plans to outshine them. Her talent and praise amongst her family is often a source of jealousy for Himeko, often being the cause for her transformations. *'Takaaki' (タカアキ, Takaaki) is a young boy who has spent most of his life in hospital with an illness and was Miyako/Bubbles' first crush, having met when they were kids. When he is hit by the dark light, he transforms into a monster and escapes, though does not attempt to harm others. Eventually he is found by Bubbles and returned to his normal form. Soundtrack The Powerpuff Girls Z: Original Soundtrack was released in Japanese stores on June 27, 2007. The CD contains TV sized versions of the show's opening and ending themes (although the song, Jig THE Upper, is the version that was featured on the single released by Hoi Festa and not the one used in the actual show,) a party mix of the show's music produced by TAICHI MASTER, and character songs sung by Emiri Katou, Nami Miyahara and Machiko Kawana. The supplied booklet also contains pre-production artwork, including a variety of concept designs for the Powerpuff Girls Z and other series characters. *Opening Themes #"Kibōu no Kakera" (希望のカケラ "Pieces of Hope") by Nana Kitade (eps. 1-26) #"Jigu THE Appā" (ジグ THE アッパー "Zig the Upper") by Hoi Festa (eps. 27-52) *Ending Themes #"Mayonaka no Door" (真夜中のドア "Door of Midnight") by Liu Yi Fei (eps. 1-13) #"LOOK" by HALCALI (eps. 14-26) #"Tōori Ame" (通り雨 "Rainshower") by Wiz-US (eps. 27-39) #"Himawari" (ひまわり "Sunflower") by Hearts Grow (eps. 40-52)﻿ Video Game A video game entitled Demashita! Powerpuff Girls Z: The Game for the Nintendo DS by Namco was launched on June 12, 2007.3 It has board-game style gameplay similar to Mario Party and features Blossom, Bubbles and Buttercup competing with Mojo Jojo to get to the centre of the board, competing in minigames along the way. Manga﻿ A manga adaptation, illustrated by Shiho Komiyuno, was published in Shueisha's Ribon magazine between July 2006 and June 2007. References #↑ Cartoon Network Philppines Site (http://www.cartoonnetwork.com.ph/minisite/ppgz/index.php) #↑ Original Wikipedia Article (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Powerpuff_Girls_Z) #↑ Anime News Network (http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/anime.php?id=5371) #↑ IMDb (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0989771/) See Also *The Powerpuff Girls (original series)